The present invention relates to the field of gift cards and, more specifically, to a secondary market for gift cards, where a secondary market transaction does not physically transfer the same gift card between a seller and a purchaser.
Many retailers of consumer goods and services institute gift cards, where a value of credit valid for purchases from that retailer can be purchased using a negotiable instrument (e.g., cash or its equivalent). The credit on the gift card is treated as a cash equivalent by the retailer, but otherwise lacks value (e.g., is unable to be utilized for purchases with other retailers). The gift card represents a credit artifact that is freely transferrable between consumers. That is, the gift card is not bound to a specific purchaser (as is a credit or debit card), but may be conveyed to anyone, where the retailer is contractually obligated to honor the credit on the card, when the card is presented by a bearer. Thus, a gift card is considered a bearer instrument.
The credit value of the gift card cannot typically be converted back to cash, once purchased initially. Instead, the credit value of the gift card is only usable for purchases between a consumer (e.g., bearer) and the identified retailer. For example, a gift card associated with Retailer X must be used for purchases of Retailer X only and cannot be used for purchases involving other retailers. It is not uncommon for a consumer to receive or possess gift cards for one or more retailers that the consumer doesn't favor. In this case, the consumer has credit for a retailer by virtue of possessing/owning the gift card, which the consumer will not use (or at least which the consumer values significantly less than the credit value accessible via the gift card, which can be referred to as the face value of the gift card).